Found
by CLINTASHA4EVA
Summary: "Natalia.." he whispered to himself. He knew who they were. The Red Room had found her. She wouldn't face them alone. He wouldn't let her.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: not ours yadda yadda if we did own it we'd be hanging with Stan Lee instead of sitting at home like Introverts

Clint crashed onto the sofa in his room at the Avengers tower. Their previous mission had been long and hard with little rest, he was glad to take a break from all the commotion. Natasha, however, couldn't rest. Clint hadnt seen it, but there had been a letter a shadowed figure had handed to her while she was infiltrating the enemy base. She read it, but couldn't believe. Worst of all, she couldn't tell Clint. She'd hid her preoccupation well on the way back, .but now she was becoming more frantic, less inconspicuous. Clint had picked up on it.

"Whats up with you today?" He questioned once they'd settled back in. She shrugged, trying to come up with a viable lie to tell him. "I'm just a little jumpy ever since that man in the alley attacked us.." Natasha smiled shyly. Clint didn't entirely believe her, but left it, figuring it was nothing. His eyes were slipping shut as he flipped through channels, so Natasha decided to go into the bedroom to check if the letter was still hooked within her belt. She read it through again, wishing the words weren't real. There was a shuffling behind the door and she quickly folded the paper again, shoving it back into the crook of her belt as Clint walked in. He leaned against the door frame, locking eyes with Natasha. Why couldn't he get a read on her today? She smiled sweetly, desperate to cover her face with an innocent mask. "You alright?" Natasha asked, trying to keep his mind away from her. She seemed to have interrupted a deep thought.  
"Hmm? Oh, yea..I'm fine." He smiled back. Natasha walked up to him. She could see he was confused, but in a way, was glad he was. If he knew what was happening.. "Are you sure?" Her voice was soft, trying to comfort him. "Really" he proceeded "I'm fine" She realized what was distracting him:  
Her.  
She gently placed her hands on his chest. 'One more night,' she promised herself. 'One more night in his arms. Then I run.' She then wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a perfect kiss. 'I need to protect you' she thought.  
She didn't want to leave.

The moment he woke he knew something was wrong.  
First of all, Natasha wasn't there. Unusual, but not unheard of, especially when he looked at the clock. Nine am. She was up already.. That was it. But something was off, way off. He threw off the sheets and heard a small ruffling sound, like a sheet of paper had fallen to the floor. He walked around the bed, tired and slightly sore. There was a small envelope laying on the ground. It was labeled for him in Natasha's perfect, neat handwriting. He sat back down, and opened the letter.. It was addressed simply to Clint Barton.  
Simple, but completely like her. Slowly, he read the letter.  
'Clint,

Don't be frightened, I'm not hurt. I haven't been taken.

No, I did this on my own account.

It hurts me to leave you, after all we've been through. I wish I didn't have to leave, but if I want to keep you and the others at SHEILD safe.. I have to leave.

Yesterday, I know you were confused. I wasn't telling you something, you could see that. But what?

During our previous mission, I received a short letter from a strange man. The letter I have enclosed in this envelope. It will not lead you to me, but it will help explain what is happening. I'm sorry, Clint. I wish I didn't have to do this.

Я люблю тебя.  
Natasha'

Clint stared blankly at the paper that was now hanging limply from his hand.  
Я люблю тебя..  
Then why did she leave?  
He remembered the other paper. He ripped through the rest of the contents of the envelope. It wasn't long before he found the second sheet of paper. It was torn at the edges, wrinkling with some of the pen marks smearing the words. It was obvious Natasha had read it over and over.

'Natalia Alianovna Romanova,

We know where you are.

We know who you fight for.

You have disappointed us.

We will be sending our best to look for you.

Prepare to die.'

"Natalia.." he whispered to himself.

He knew who they were.

The Red Room had found her.

She wouldn't face them alone.

He wouldn't let her.


	2. Chapter 2

A/n Disclaimer: in our dreams :|

dedicated to _Whisper Your Name_ for being our first review EVER, you made our week XD

She had taken her suit, her guns, her gauntlets, and one knife. Clint's knife  
She hoped he didn't mind.

As the sun rose, she sprinted down the damp streets. It had rained last night, but that was fine with her. The cold, damp air felt good, fresh. Running, she began to remember her Red Room training crept back into her mind. She had to become Natalia, the cold-blooded killer. If she wanted to survive, if she wanted to prove to them that she wasn't weak, that she wouldn't run from them, she would have to shake off the soft girl she had become. Slowly, she let everything slide away from her; SHEILD, the avengers, her friends, her life, Clint. She stopped dead.  
No.  
She wouldn't forget him. There was no way. She couldn't if she wanted to. Instead of sprinting, she walked, wondering what Clint would do when he found the letter. There was no 'if', Natasha knew he would find it. She hoped he wouldn't do anything stupid, like come after her, but part of her wished he would. Part of her wished he could come with her, but she knew he couldn't. He was in enough danger just knowing her. Everyone was. She sighed as she thought. She was going to put an end to this, she was going to stop them. Natasha picked up her pace until she was again running at top speed. She had a personal safe house she had told no one about, even Clint, though there were times she considered it. For now, she would be safe there. The only problem was that it was forty miles from where she was, and she didn't dare take a bus or taxi in fear that whoever may be tracking her could trace her based on the transport information. So instead, she would run.  
Just like old times.

He was going to find her.  
He knew she wouldn't want him to.  
He didn't care.  
Clint couldn't believe she had hidden something like this from him so well. Yes, he had his suspicions, but he didn't think much of them. How could he have been so blind? He re-read her letter, wishing this was some sort of sick joke. But he knew it wasn't, this was serious.

The Red Room was hunting her. He didn't know where to begin looking, but he had already made the decision to not tell anyone, to not ask for help. He would go after her alone, at least for now. Clint was positive she had some sort of plan for this situation, some place she could go. He had a feeling she would stay away from any hotels, anywhere with too people. No, she knew better than to go out into public directly. Natasha would hide in the shadows for a while. She would be alone, in the dark, at least until he reached her. Grabbing his things, including his bow, and headed off down the hall, wondering where she could have gone.  
He hoped it wasn't too far.


	3. Chapter 3

A/n just would like to clear up a few things XD first off we would like to make it known that we are not in fact a singular person referring to themselves in a third, there is actually two of us writing

Second I (personally) would like to address the comment made about the formatting. There is a reason I can not fulfill the request for double space etc. I post the chapters off my tablet and don't have a sufficient word processor XD sorry bout that. E

ENJOYYY (hopefully) we were a little unsure about this and I know its pretty short, I just wanted to get something up :) COMMENTS ARE FANGIRL CRACK, AND WE NEED OUR FIX. XD

Natasha finally stalked up to the door. She had checked the perimeter, no one was around. There was, however, someone inside. Whoever it was had been sloppy and untrained, leaving plenty of marks that they had been at the worn down safe house. Natasha smirked. She decided it would be best to enter silently, even if it just meant a slight edge of surprise. Drawing her gun, she treaded, making absolutely no sound, into the main room. There was a girl, no more then nineteen sifting through the boxes Natasha kept under the living room couch. The girl didn't notice her, so Natasha watched as she ripped out old pictures of her and Alexi, multiple pairs of ballet shoes, and plenty of other useless objects Natasha had kept over the years. Not out of sentiment but lack of motive to get rid of them, they were there just because.  
The Widow coughed loudly and the girl spun around, fumbling for a weapon. By the time the gun was drawn Natasha was half a second from kicking it out of her hands. However, girl did seem to have some measure of skill because she, however messily, managed to avoid the swipe. Natasha smiled, remembering her younger years. At that age, she had already surpassed the skills of nearly every other girl at the Red Room, including the experts and trainers. This girl, however, was at the average level. The fight continued for only a moment more when Natasha grabbed the girl's wrist, spinning it around her back and forcing her to drop the gun. Picking it up, Natasha circled the girl critically. The young woman scowled. Natasha couldn't help but smile at the angry gesture.  
"By now you should know your English, I'll test you on it a bit, eh?" The girl faltered a moment, then replied coldly.  
"Of course," Natasha stopped behind the girl. "I didn't expect them to send someone so.. Young," she said smoothly. In reply, she lifted her chin arrogantly. "I am the best." She snapped, her voice filling with pride. Natasha chuckled. The girl was almost half as arrogant as she had been. "Is that what they tell you?"  
A short pause. "It is true." The girl responded.  
Very arrogant.  
She was also obviously not very intelligent, because she thought it was an opportune moment to attack.

Yes, not very intelligent at all.

She spun around, fist ready to swing, but Natasha was quicker, far faster then the young girl. She held her gun to the girl's forehead and Clint's light knife to her throat. The girl stopped, eyes wide in shock. "Hmm, " Natasha mused as though nothing of true interest just happened. "It would seem Ivan's standards are slipping.." She traced small lines across the girl's neck. It wasn't necessarily a threat, but more of a simple warning to her that the simplest mistake could kill. "Tell me, child, how many missions have you completed by yourself?" Natasha asked in false gentility "Twenty seven since I was allowed to go alone." she was growing cocky again, but the Widow had dealt with worse. Natasha nodded. Fifty three. She smiled, remembering the number. The men at the Red Room had been so proud of her, or so they seemed. "Twenty seven. And how old are you?" "Seventeen." The girl was one year away from eighteen. Natasha knew what happened at that age.  
It was nothing good.  
"Child," she began, her voice commanding but gentle at the same time. "If you do not leave the place you were raised now, you will regret it later, as I have." There was another short moment of silence. The girl was hesitating, considering. "I will regret nothing" She finally spat. "Ты предатель." Whatever sympathy Natasha had nearly diminished with that one phrase. She held the sharp end of the knife closer to the girl's neck, a small bead of blood appearing. Seeing the red, Natasha immediately forced herself to back down.  
'No,' she chided herself. 'No more Natalia. This girl doesn't know what she is saying.'  
Natasha stared coldly "Нет, девочка, ты предатель."  
The teen struggled viciously, but for nothing. Natasha was simply trying to decide what should be done with the young assassin. She pondered for no more then a moment. Natasha took the knife and gun away from her head and neck. "If you do not run, as I highly suggest if you wish to keep your pride, go back and tell them that they will not kill me so easily." Natasha then punched the girl's stunned face. She stumbled to the floor, temporarily blinded. The Widow took advantage and slipped out of the door before the child could see her, once again into the shadows.

She wondered if he was looking for her.


End file.
